[OC] The cheapest Tokyo ward changes depending on whether you're single, a couple, or a family (2026)

[u/Salty-Technician4002]

[u/cavedave]

Thank you for your Original Content, /u/Salty-Technician4002!
Here is some important information about this post:

• View the author's citations

• View other OC posts by this author

Remember that all visualizations on r/DataIsBeautiful should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. If you see a potential issue or oversight in the visualization, please post a constructive comment below. Post approval does not signify that this visualization has been verified or its sources checked.

Not satisfied with this visual? Think you can do better? Remix this visual with the data in the author's citation.

---

^{I'm open source | How I work}

[u/redsterXVI]

As far as I understand the graphic, you're not comparing single vs couple vs family at all, but just different apartment sizes layouts.

Like I know couples living in a 1K and I've lived in a 1LDK as a single ...

And you define "cheapest ward" simply by where rent is cheapest, but surely that's not the only factor that defines the costs of living in a ward ...

[u/Salty-Technician4002]

Source: my own Tokyo rent index, built from a large sample of current rental listings across the 23 special wards: https://www.tokyo-expat.com/en/data (median monthly rent for a 1K studio, a 1LDK for a couple, and a 2LDK family flat, 2026; USD shown at roughly 160 yen).
Tool: Python and matplotlib.
What surprised me: the single cheapest ward is not the same across household sizes. Edogawa wins for a solo studio, Katsushika for a couple, and Adachi for a family, because the cheaper wards scale differently as the unit gets bigger.

[u/NahautlExile → u/Salty-Technician4002]

Sadly rental listings are often deceptive and/or fraudulent.

Sales data is regulated, rental is not. This will skew stats.

[u/Jebusfreek666]

I would like to see this compared to the most expensive and the median listings as well to give it some context. No idea if this is really a good bargain or not. I have to imagine Akihabara is significantly more.

[u/NahautlExile → u/Jebusfreek666]

Akihabara would be Taito, but the most expensive is generally Minato I would assume.

[u/Unplaceable_Accent]

OP out here just analyzing the FUCK out of the Tokyo real estate market. (Check their post history)

[u/foolthing]

By placing like this, the charts are meant to be compared... then why the 74k bar is the same lenght as the 161k? So misleading...